Treating raw or partially-dressed hides.



UNTTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

TREATING RAW OR PARTIALLY-DRESSED HIDES- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 22, 1905.

Application filed July 5,1904. Serial No. 215,288.

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HORATIO WOODBURN SoUTHwoRTH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Hyde Park Hotel, Albert Gate, London, England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Treating Raw or Partly-Dressed Hides; and I hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The object of my invention is to treat raw hides that is, hides that have just been taken off from the animal and simply dried-or partly-dressed hides-that is, hides that have been treated with lime or hides that have been limed and batedin such a manner that the finished hides are very flexible and durable and also are waterproof. Hides so treated can be used for all purposes for which ordinaryleather may be used, and for many purposes they are superior to ordinary leather.

To this end my invention consists in soaking the hides for a considerable time in water to which a small quantity of sulfate of iron has been added, then soaking them in a bath of glycerin and a solution of acetate of alumina for a considerable time, then partially drying the hides and treating their surface with a compound of castor-oil and alcohol well rubbed in, the hides being then piled up until they are thoroughly impregnated with this compound. The final step consists in working in the surface of the hides any suitable waterproofing compound.

In carrying out myinvention I take hides of any suitable kind and remove from them the hair and adhering fleshy parts in the usual way, (unless this has already been done.) I then soak the hides in cold water for a considerable time. The time of soaking depends upon the nature of the hide, whether it is 1 thick or thin, and also depends somewhat upon the preliminary treatment to which the hide has been subjected. Ordinarily this soaking in'water occupies several days. After the water has thoroughly penetrated and softened the hide a solution of sulfate of iron is stirred into the water and the soaking continued. This preliminary soaking, first with water and then with water containing sulfate of iron, usually occupies several days. Seven days soaking is usually sufficient-four in water and three in water to which sulfate of iron has been added. If the hides have already been bated, three days soaking in waacetate of alumina and from four to eight parts of water. This I call bath No. 2. The strength of this bath No. 2 is determined by the character and thickness of the hides under treatment and the degree of softness desired in the articles to be formed from the prepared hide. The hides are allowed to remain in bath No. 2 from two to six days, according to their thickness. The hides are then taken from bath No. 2 and allowed to partially dry. Their surfaces are then treated with castor-oil .mixed with sufiicient commercial alcohol to make a complete combination between the two. One part of castor-oil to five parts of alcohol is usually sufiicient. This compound is thoroughly rubbed into the prepared hides, which are then placed in a pile, one above the other, and allowed to remain until the compound of alcohol and oil has thoroughly impregnated them.

The following example is given for the treatment of an ox-hide one-tenth of an inch thick: The unbated hide is first soaked in water for seven days, the water containing fifty grains of sulfate of iron to the gallon. This sulfate of iron, however, is not added until about the end of the fourth day. The hide is then soaked in bath No. 2 for five days, which bath consists of two gallons of glycerin, one gallon of a saturated solution of acetate of alumina, and two gallons of water. The hide is then allowed to dry and its surface treated with a compound of castor-oil and alcohol consisting of three-fourths of a gallon of castor-oil and four gallonsof alcohol. This solution is then rubbed in by hand upon the hide, which is rolled upon itself, and the hide is then placed in a pile of similarly-treated hides. Afterward the hides may be, if desired, subjected to any waterproofing compound, such as hereinafter described. The castor-oil prevents the glycerin from absorbing moisture and facilitates the absorption of other oils by the hides, while the alcohol facilities the action of the oil or waterproofing compound, hereinafter mentioned, 1n penetrating the hides which have been treated with glycerin and acetate of alumina.

If the finished hides are to be used in such a way that they will be exposed to great moisture, I prefer to waterproof them, and for this purpose any of the well-known waterproofing compositions may be used for example, tanners oil, which is a mixture of neats-foot oil and tallow, or tar-oil, which is the ordinary product of resinous or tar distillation or other vegetable oil, or mineral oil, or wax, or shellac, or similar substances, either alone or mixed with a solution of india-rubber, is worked into the surfaces of the hides either hot or cold. The hides thus treated form a material which is soft, flexible, durable, and thoroughly waterproof and which can be applied to various uses, such as the covers of pneumatic tires of the wheels of bicycles or other vehicles, driving-belts, soles for boots and shoes, and the-like, and, in short, for almost any uses where the material is liable to a great deal of wear and tear and is required to have great toughness and durablity.

Having thus described my invention, I claim 1. The process of treating raw or partlydressed hides which consists in soaking the hides in water containing a small quantity of sulfate of iron, allowing them to drain, immersing them in a bath containing glycerin, acetate of alumina and water, allowing the hides to partially dry and rubbing their surfaces with a mixture of castor-oil and alcohol, substantially as described.

2. The process of treating raw or partlydressed hides, which consists in soaking them in water containing sulfate of iron, draining the hides, immersing them in a bath of glycerin, acetate of alumina and water, partially drying the hides, treating the surfaces of the hides with a mixture of castor-oil and alcohol, and rubbing them with a water-excluding compound, substantially as described.

3. The process of treating raw or partlydressed hides, which consists in soaking them in water containing sulfate of iron, draining the hides, immersing them in a bath containing glycerin and acetate of alumina, partially drying said hides, treating them with a mixture of castor-oil and alcohol, treating them with oil, and a solution of india-rubber, substantially as described.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two witnesses.

HORATIO WOODBUR-N SOU'IHWORTH.

Witnesses:

H. D. JAMEsoN, A. NUTTING. 

